Design and Computation Arts prof Jason Edward Lewis wins SSHRC Impact Award

Jason Edward Lewis is making Concordia history. The professor in the Department of Design and Computation Arts is the first faculty member at the university to receive the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Impact Award – Partnership.

The $50,000 award recognizes outstanding collaborative work that advances research, trains the next generation of scholars, and brings knowledge to communities in the social sciences and humanities.

Innovating with culture and technology

An artist and technologist, Lewis has spent more than 20 years exploring the materiality of computation and its cultural consequences, particularly for Indigenous communities. He combines scholarly investigation and creative practice, a methodology known as research-creation, to ensure technology development is informed by diverse cultural frameworks beyond mainstream Eurocentric perspectives.

Lewis co-founded the Indigenous Futures Research Centre at Concordia and leads multiple large-scale initiatives, including the Abundant Intelligences Partnership and Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace. His work connects artists, scholars, students and Indigenous communities across Canada, the United States, New Zealand and beyond, fostering innovative approaches to artificial intelligence, digital media and Indigenous futures.

Training the next generation

Over his career, Lewis has mentored more than 100 undergraduate research assistants and numerous graduate students, integrating them into collaborative interdisciplinary projects. His approach emphasizes both technical excellence and cultural responsibility, creating pathways for emerging Indigenous researchers and artists.

For Tim Evans, vice-president of research, innovation and impact at Concordia, Lewis’s work exemplifies how research-creation can bridge technology, culture and community.  “This SSHRC Impact Award recognizes not only Jason’s outstanding research contributions, but more fundamentally his leadership in pioneering global convergence between arts, culture and technology that is inspiring the next generation of researchers.”

Lewis says he will use the funds to further develop the partnerships and research achievements this award recognizes, in line with SSHRC’s mandate to sustain and build Canada’s research-based knowledge culture.

Learn more about Design and Computation Arts at Concordia.

The operations and facilities of the Indigenous Futures Research Centre are supported notably through funding that Concordia receives from the Research Support Fund (RSF). The RSF helps Concordia maintain modern labs and equipment, provide access to up-to-date knowledge resources, secure research from threats, provide research management and administrative support, meet regulatory and ethical standards, and transfer knowledge from academia to the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors.